|
|
|
|
Adobe Illustrator
|
| |
|
| |
Adobe Illustrator is a vector-based drawing program developed and marketed by Adobe Systems.
The latest version, Illustrator CS4, is the fourteenth generation in the product line. Numerous new features include multiple artboards in a single document, a "blob brush" that is similar to the brush in Adobe Flash, and supports transparency in gradients among other features.
dobe Illustrator was first developed for the Apple Macintosh in 1986 (shipping in January 1987) as a commercialization of Adobe's in-house font development software and PostScript file format.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Adobe Illustrator' Start a new discussion about 'Adobe Illustrator' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
Adobe Illustrator is a vector-based drawing program developed and marketed by Adobe Systems.
The latest version, Illustrator CS4, is the fourteenth generation in the product line. Numerous new features include multiple artboards in a single document, a "blob brush" that is similar to the brush in Adobe Flash, and supports transparency in gradients among other features.
History
Versions 1 (Illustrator 88)
Adobe Illustrator was first developed for the Apple Macintosh in 1986 (shipping in January 1987) as a commercialization of Adobe's in-house font development software and PostScript file format. Adobe Illustrator is the companion product of Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop is primarily geared toward digital photo manipulation and photorealistic styles of computer illustration, while Illustrator provides results in the typesetting and logo graphic areas of design. Early magazine ads (featured in graphic design trade magazines such as Communication Arts) referred to the product as "the Adobe Illustrator". Illustrator 88 was released in 1988 and introduced many new tools and features.
Versions 2–5
Although, during its first decade, Adobe developed Illustrator primarily for Macintosh, it sporadically supported other platforms. In the early 1990s, Adobe released versions of Illustrator for NeXT, Silicon Graphics IRIX, and Sun Solaris platforms, but they were discontinued due to poor market acceptance. The first version of Illustrator for version 2.0, was released in early 1989, but it was a flop. The next Windows version, version 4.0, was widely criticized as being too similar to Illustrator 1.1 instead of the Macintosh 3.0 version, and certainly not the equal of Windows' most popular illustration package CorelDraw. (Note that there were no versions 2.0 or 4.0 for the Macintosh - although the second release for the Mac was titled Illustrator 88 - the year of its release.) Version 4 was, however the first version of Illustrator to support editing in preview mode, which did not appear in a Macintosh version until 5.0 in 1993.
Versions 6–10
With the introduction of Illustrator 6 in 1996, Adobe made critical changes in the user interface with regards to path editing (and also to converge on the same user interface as Adobe Photoshop), and many users opted not to upgrade. Illustrator also began to support TrueType, making the "font wars" between PostScript Type 1 and TrueType largely moot. Like Photoshop, Illustrator also began supporting plug-ins, greatly and quickly extending its abilities.
With true ports of the Macintosh versions to Windows starting with version 7 in 1997, designers could finally standardize on Illustrator. Corel did port CorelDRAW 6.0 to the Macintosh in late 1996, but it was received as too little, too late. Aldus ported FreeHand to Windows but it was not the equal of Illustrator. Adobe bought Aldus in 1994 for PageMaker, and as part of the transaction it sold FreeHand to Macromedia (which was later acquired by Adobe). Clarifying difference in strengths between Photoshop and Illustrator
with the rise of the Internet, Illustrator was enhanced to support Web publishing, rasterization previewing, PDF, and SVG. Version 9 included a tracing feature, similar to that within Adobe's discontinued product Streamline.
Versions CS–CS4
Illustrator CS2 (version 12) to reflect its integration with the Adobe Creative Suite, was available for both the Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows operating systems. It was the last version for the Mac which did not run natively on both Intel and PowerPC processors. Illustrator CS was the first version to include 3-dimensional capabilities allowing users to extrude or revolve shapes to create simple 3D objects.
Among the new features included in Illustrator CS2 were Live Trace, Live Paint, a control palette and custom workspaces. Live Trace allows for the conversion of bitmap imagery into vector art and improved upon the previous tracing abilities. Live Paint allows users more flexibility in applying color to objects, specifically those that overlap.
CS3 included interface updates to the Control Bar, the ability to align individual points, multiple Crop Areas, the Color Guide panel and the Live Color feature among others.
CS4 was released in October 2008. It features a variety of improvements to old tools along with the introduction of a few brand new tools. The ability to create Multiple Artboards is one of CS4’s main additions. The Artboards allow you to create multiple versions of a piece of work within a single document. Other tools include the Blob Brush, which allows you to make a more natural paint brush stroke (reminiscent of Microsoft paint or other non-vector drawing programs) which then becomes vectorized, and a new gradient tool that allows for more in depth manipulation of colors.
Branding
Starting with version 1.0, Adobe chose to license an image of Sandro Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" from the Bettmann Archive and use the portion containing Venus' face as Illustrator's branding image. Warnock desired a Renaissance image to evoke his vision of Postscript as a new Renaissance in publishing, and Adobe employee Luanne Seymour Cohen, who was responsible for the early marketing material, found Venus' flowing tresses a perfect vehicle for demonstrating Illustrator's strength in tracing smooth curves over bitmap source images. Over the years the rendition of this image on Illustrator's splash screen and packaging became more stylized to reflect features added in each version.
The image of Venus was replaced (albeit still accessible via easter egg) in Illustrator CS (11.0) and CS2 (12.0) by a stylized flower to conform to the Creative Suite's nature imagery. In CS3, Adobe changed the suite branding once again, to simple colored blocks with two-letter abbreviations, resembling a periodic table of elements. Illustrator was represented by the letters Ai in white against an orange background (oranges and yellows were prominent color schemes in Illustrator branding going back as far as version 4.0). The CS4 icon is almost identical, except for a slight alteration to the font and the color which is dark gray.
Internationalization and localization
Language Availability
Adobe Illustrator CS4 is available in the following languages: Arabic (Middle Eastern version), Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, French (Canadian), German, Greek, Hebrew (Middle Eastern version), Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Spanish (Latin American), Swedish, Turkish,Indonesia, Ukrainian.
Adobe Illustrator Middle Eastern language versions available from WinSoft.
Specific Features for Arabic and Hebrew languages
The Middle Eastern/Hebrew and the Middle Eastern/Arabic versions are specifically developed for Arabic and Hebrew languages.
Text Settings
Illustrator Middle Eastern versions come with special settings for typing and laying out Arabic or Hebrew text, such as:
- Possibility to use Arabic, Persian or Hindi digits
- Use kashidas for letter spacing and full justification
- Set vowels /diacritics positioning
- Ligature option
- Justify text in three possible ways: Standard, Arabic, Naskh
Additional Fonts
Illustrator Middle Eastern versions support most fonts shipped with the OS as well as a large number of third party fonts widely used by graphic designers in the Middle Eastern regions.
Illustrator Middle Eastern versions install one additional font that facilitates your work in Middle Eastern languages: WinSoft Pro, which is available in four styles: Medium, Medium Italic, Bold and Bold Italic.
Bi-directional Text flow
In Illustrator Middle Eastern versions, the notion of right-to-left behaviour applies to several objects: Story, Paragraph and Character. You can easily mix Right-to-Left and Left-to-Right Words, Paragraphs and Stories in a document.
Dictionary and Hyphenation Module
Illustrator Middle Eastern versions come with a comprehensive dictionary for Arabic allowing you to spell check Arabic text with a choice of rules, like Strict Aleef Hamza, Strict Final Yaa, both or none.
Illustrator Middle Eastern versions come with a Dictionary and Hyphenation Module for Hebrew.
Find / Replace
You can search for and change specific occurrences of Middle Eastern text. Illustrator Middle Eastern versions include a "Ignore Accent" option. When checked, the user can search for a string of text whether it contains some accents or not.
Import/Export Options for ME characters
Illustrator Middle Eastern versions include improved import and export options for RTF, Unicode, Word, Freehand, CorelDraw, PDF, SVG, PSD, EPS, EMF and DXF/DWG files including Middle Eastern text.
Encodings has been added for Middle Eastern characters to facilitate text import and export, Save for Web and DXF/DWG file import.
Freehand Hebrew text
Illustrator Middle Eastern versions come with an enhanced filter to import Macromedia Freehand Hebrew files.
The Middle Eastern versions are also available for Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Adobe InCopy, Adobe Dreamweaver and for Adobe Creative Suite (Design Standard, Design Premium, Web Premium).
Release history
| Version | Platforms | Release date | Code name | | 1.0 | Mac OS | January 1987 | Picasso | | 1.1 | Mac OS | March 19, 1987 | Inca | | 88 | Mac OS | March 1988 | | | 2.0 | Windows | January 1989 | Pinnacle | | 3 | Mac OS, NeXT, other Unices | October 1990 | Desert Moose | | 3.5 | Silicon Graphics | 1991 | | | 4 | Windows | May 1992 | Kangaroose | | 3.5 | Solaris | 1993 | | | 5 | Mac OS | June 1993 | Saturn | | 5.5 | Mac OS, Solaris | June 1994 | Janus | | 4.1 | Windows | 1995 | | | 6 | Mac OS | February 1996 | Popeye | | 7 | Mac/Windows | May 1997 | Simba | | 8 | Mac/Windows | September 1998 | Elvis | | 9 | Mac/Windows | June 2000 | Matisse | | 10 | Mac/Windows | November 2001 | Paloma | | CS (11) | Mac/Windows | October 2003 | Pangaea/Sprinkles | | CS2 (12, 12.0.1) | Mac/Windows | April 27, 2005 | Zodiac | | CS3 (13) | Mac/Windows | April 2007 | Jason | | CS4 (14) | Mac/Windows | October 2008 | Sonnet |
See also
External links
|
| |
|
|
